


The clown and the lion

by Fem_helios



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild mental illness, Trust Issues, past trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 21:29:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10975689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fem_helios/pseuds/Fem_helios
Summary: Amphios lost his mother young and has been making it on his own for most of his life. Follow him as he lives his day to day life and meets a beautiful stranger that turns everything upside down.





	The clown and the lion

**Author's Note:**

> There is limited mention of Sidon and in-game characters but this is mostly original characters and story. Please enjoy.
> 
> Tags will be updated as required with added chapter content.

Amphios sleepily blinked in into the morning sun. His black eyes focused as he wiped the sleep from them and sat up. The orange scales across his forehead glistened in the dancing shaft of light that poured through the small crack in the ceiling. The light spilled in at exactly the right angle to bullseye him right in the face where he slept. His cave was small but he had made it very comfortable, adding luminous stones all around he perimeter for light and multiple pillows and soft blankets were strewn about making a fluffy nest for him to sleep in. A small hot spring ran as a shallow depth under the smooth floor, warming the stones slightly.  
There were several chambers in his little found cave system he had decorated and modified to suit his needs. His little private home was tucked out of view near the base of a large support pillar under the main city in Zora's domain. Amphios was very small for a zora his age. At near forty years, he had never had more than a partial growth spurt. He could almost be mistaken for a child just based on his size. His fins were all fully developed and he was strong but he was never an effective swimmer. Instead he used his size to climb and squeeze through small areas, a useful talent when collecting the hard to find gems and ore he used to make his living. He had white and black stripes down his head tail, the fins were short and round, mostly orange and tipped with black. He resembled the clown fish that was his namesake both in body pattern and personality. He was a home body and spent most of his time indoors, reading and making jewelry out of the gem stones he found in the small caves around his home. He was an oddity among his people. When he was very small his mother was killed while protecting him from a horde of lizafos they accidentally crossed paths with while they were gathering luminous stones in the mountains. He escaped unharmed thanks to her sacrifice but it left him with a deep seeded phobia of leaving the safety and security of the main city. He never spoke to anyone unless he absolutely had to for trade, silently making his way to and from his hidden home into the city center only when unavoidably necessary.

He did, however have one companion.  
One rainy afternoon he was completing his business with the weapon and sundries shop owner, he was stopped by a hylian trader.  
Amphios had always loved animals, particularly anything soft and furry. He enjoyed sitting just outside his home while he worked on sunny days, just to watch the squirrels run around and jump and play.  
He often asked the sundries shop owner for a little extra fruit or exotic nuts to bring to the little beasts.  
The hylian was haggard and soaked to her bones from the unrelenting downpour that day. She produced a small stiff leather pouch from under her cloak. 

"I heard you are an animal lover." She said softly.  
"I think I may have something you would be interested in purchasing." She reached into the pouch and pulled out a tiny grey kitten with bright copper eyes, it couldn't have been older than eight weeks. It's fur was soaked and it shivered desperately trying to stay warm. Amphios' eyes went wide and sparkled at the sight of the tiny bundle. She was so small she fit in the palm of the woman's hand. She was curled tightly, trying to conserve her last bit of body heat.  
"It's the runt of the litter, I was selling them to some farmers in the wetlands to control mice but nobody seemed to want this little lady." The woman smiled thrusting her hand in Amphios' direction.  
"Fifty rupees little one and she's all yours."  
She smiled.  
"Oh my goddesses yes!" He exclaimed softly.  
He reached out quickly and cradled the kitten in his small hands, bringing her to his chest. He reached into his hip pouch and pulled out a small square of heavy plush fabric he used to wrap his more delicate wares for transport. He dried the little kitty as best as he could and wrapped her up in the fabric. When he had her sufficiently swaddled he cupped her to his chest. She began to purr immediately and blinked slowly as her shivering subsided.  
He rummaged around in his hip pouch and paid the trader.  
"I've never seen one of these before, what do they eat?" Amphios stroked the kittens forehead gently with his thumb.  
"Meat." She chuckled  
"They are little carnivores, she will eat any meat or fish you give her. Avoid milk, she's too old for that, it will make her sick." Amphios nodded in understanding.  
She pulled a small damp wrapped parcel from her pack.  
"This is what I have been feeding her. She seems to like it alright" she said as she unwrapped a small pile of shredded dry fish. The kitten perked up when she smelled the food. Amphios took a few shreds and held them close to her nose, she gobbled them up with gusto. She nipped at his fingers, making him giggle. He took the rest and wrapped it back up and tucked it into his pouch.  
"Thank you, I'll take good care of her." He smiled warmly and turned to head home. 

Several years had passed and his little companion had grown into a pretty average looking little grey cat. He named her Nymphaea, which meant water Lilly in the old tongue. He called her Nymphie for short more often. Usually she spent her nights curled against his chest while he slept and she was always there purring next to him when he woke up.  
This morning was different.  
He called for her hoping she was just outside the cave opening perhaps chasing a beetle or some other interesting insect. Amphios looked everywhere around his home for her, when couldn't find her and she didn't come to his calls, he began to panic. He slug his hip pouch around his waist and took off up the path to the city center, frantically calling for her as he ran. With any luck someone in the city may have seen her and could give him some clue where to find her and bring her home.


End file.
